First Snow
by QueenAurora
Summary: After an exhausting day Stoick hopes to get some rest. But when his five-year-old son Hiccup finds out the first snow of the winter has arrived on Berk, Stoick's sleep will be cut short by an overactive child who wants to play outside.


_Another one-shot with five-year-old Hiccup. I got inspired when I woke up this morning and there was snow! Yes, you read that right, snow. Now for some of you snow might not be something special, but here it is. We don't get snow that often anymore. It's the first snow of this winter, two days after Christmas, but it's snow! I personally love snow, it covers everything in this white layer that makes everything seem magical, but there are of course people who don't like it at all. To quote a friend: "Tons and tons of white bullshit that do nothing else that block the roads and fuck with traffic." He is kinda right... the trains are already having problems, as usual. Good thing I don't have to take the train!_

_And I don't care! It's snow! I love it! _

_Anyway, another one-shot. People seem to like my five-year-old Hiccup stories. Between you and me, I'm open for ideas for these one-shots, so if you have any, don't hesitate to let me know!_

_Enjoy! _

**First Snow**

'Daddy! Daddy!'

Stoick groaned, opening his eyes. The house was dark, the fire had gone out and light was not yet seeping in through the window. It had to be the middle of the night still, probably not long after he had gone to bed. He frowned. Had he not heard Hiccup's voice? The room seemed empty though. He closed his eyes again, ready to fall back to sleep.

'Daddy! Daddy!'

The pitter patter of small feet.

Tiny hands on his cheek.

He had been right. Hiccup was awake.

When he opened his eyes he saw the child in front of him, sitting on his bed chewing on his blanket.

'Hiccup... it's the middle of the night. Go back to bed.'

The boy shook his head, his auburn hair flying around it. Stoick sighed and sat up, picked up the child, wrapped him in his blanket and cradled him against his bare chest. Hiccup gripped his beard with both hands. Stoick sighed and looked down on the boy.

'And why not?'

'Daddy, snow!'

Hiccup pointed to the window and Stoick stood up, walking towards it, his son in his arms.

Hiccup was right.

It was snowing.

It must have started snowing right after he had gone to bed and now Berk was covered in a thick white blanket, reflecting the light of the moon and the stars. Snowflakes were falling and Berk was silent.

'Can we go outside daddy? Please?'

Stoick looked down on his small son. Pleading green eyes stared up at him and a smile crept onto his face. After looking out the window again, he nodded and put Hiccup down.

'Go get your clothes son.'

Hiccup squealed with joy as he ran up the stairs, the blanket trailing behind him. Stoick rubbed his eyes. He couldn't have gotten more than a few hours of sleep, but Hiccup's joy about something that would disrupt life on Berk was rather cute. The child did not yet understand that while snow was fun, it could also bring a lot of trouble. He quickly put on his own clothes and put some more wood on the fire, rekindling the flame. Hiccup came back, his clothes in his arms.

For the first time that year Stoick had no trouble dressing the boy. He stayed perfectly still while his father pulled his tunic over his head and his arms in the sleeves. As soon as his boots were on, the boy ran to the door, looking back at his father.

'You forgot your coat son. Come here.'

Stoick picked up the small coat, a slightly thicker version of the fur vest the boy usually wore and with sleeves and held it open. Hiccup slipped his arms in the sleeves. After setting the child on his shoulders, Stoick opened the door.

Even after a few hours the snow blanket was already ankle deep. His boots sunk in the white layer as he walked towards the plaza. They were the only ones awake and the snow was pristine. The fat snowflakes that lazily danced to the ground quickly clung to their hair and clothes and Hiccup was bouncing on his fathers shoulders.

'Daddy! Put me down!'

Stoick looked at the thick layer of snow and how far his own boots sunk into it, but Hiccup was bouncing up and down so vigorously that he set the child down. The snow reached up to the boy's calves, quickly soaking his boots and pants, but Hiccup didn't notice.

He jumped up and down, trying to catch the snowflakes. Stoick just stood, watching him and looking around the village.

The snow had covered everything, smoothing out the bumps and scorch marks, hiding any damage the last dragon raid had left. He held out a hand, catching one of the flakes in his palm. It lingered only a moment before it melted.

'Daddy look!'

He looked down on Hiccup. The boy had a handful of snow, holding it up to him. Stoick smiled and knelt in front of the child. Before he could say anything, Hiccup had dumped the snow on his head, running away giggling.

Shaking his head Stoick quickly got the snow out of his hair. Then he looked around for Hiccup. The boy had hidden, but didn't realize that there was a trail of footprints leading straight to his hiding place. He picked a small amount of snow, not too big, and quietly walked to where the boy was hiding.

'Hiccup? Come on out son.'

Hiccup peeked his head around the corner and screamed when the snow hit his head. He stared at his father and for a moment Stoick thought that the boy would start crying.

But he didn't.

Instead, he started laughing and threw more snow at his father. It ended in a snowball fight, Stoick deliberately missing the child more than actually hitting him.

After a while, they were soaking wet. Clumps of snow clung to their hair and clothes and Hiccup was shivering.

'Daddy I'm cold.'

Stoick picked the child up, setting him on his chest. 'How about we go back inside then? I will make you some warm yakmilk.'

Hiccup nodded and rested his head against Stoick's beard, little fingers plucking at the braids. Stoick carried him back to the house, the snow covering their footprints and any trace of their snowball fight, repairing the white blanket.

He closed the door behind him, shutting out the cold. He set Hiccup in front of the fire and quickly put some more logs onto the dying flame. After he had made sure it was burning nicely, he turned to his son.

'Let's get you out of these wet clothes shall we?'

He wrapped the boy in his blanket, he gave him a cup of warm yakmilk. The boy gripped the cup with both hands. Stoick smiled and ruffled his son's hair while he stood up. He changed out of his own clothes, setting his boots in front of the fire to dry. Then he sat down in his chair, taking his son in his lap.

After the cup was empty, Hiccup quickly fell asleep, nestled against his father broad chest and warm beard.

Stoick smiled while he looked down on the sleeping child, a tuft of auburn hair poking out of the blanket. Hiccup could be a handful, always running off, never listening, but he had just showed his father the beauty behind something he considered a pest.

Sure, snow was a problem on Berk. After all, it snowed for nearly nine months of the year, and he was used to dealing with it. Shoveling it into the ocean or getting rid of it some other way. He never though that to a child as young as Hiccup, snow was something beautiful and magical.

Not for the first time he missed his wife, Hiccup's mother. Subconsciously he drew the child closer to his chest, clinging onto the only piece he had left of the woman that he loved so dearly. He brushed the hair away from Hiccup's face, staring at his peaceful features, then he stood up.

He had to get the child to bed, but he didn't want to let go just yet. It wasn't often that Hiccup was in his arms like this, mostly because he never took the time to cuddle the child. He walked to the window, staring at the snow. Tomorrow he would have to dig out half the village, clear the plaza, break the ice in the well... It promised to be a busy day. And with the early snow, it promised to be a harsh and long winter.

But with a child like Hiccup, who saw wonder in every corner, easily amazed by something so simple as snow, he knew that this winter was going to be a lot warmer than the winters before.

When he saw the sun start to rise in the distance, he finally walked upstairs to put the child to bed. Hiccup had been fast asleep in his arms for the past few hours, exhausted from their game in the snow, and he knew without a doubt that he would sleep for a while.

After tucking him in, making sure he had the toy nadder his mother had made for him firmly in his grasp, he placed a gently kiss on the boy's forehead.

Soon the rest of Berk would wake up, and he would have to be a chief again. He was glad he got to enjoy the first snow with his son, before he was annoyed by it because it messed with daily life, complicating everything.

He looked back at the small bundle on the bed and smiled. Hiccup had curled up, his hands around the little stuffed nadder and a smile on his face.

The first day of snow on Berk has been better than ever, that much was sure. All thanks to the antics of a young boy who never failed to make his father smile.


End file.
